Mei and George co-lead Canadian Junior Boys Championship after 54 holes

MEDICINE HAT, Alta. – The weather in Medicine Hat wasn’t the only thing heating up during round three of the Canadian Junior Boys Championship. After 72 players battled underneath the blazing sun at Medicine Hat Golf & Country Club, Gerry Mei and Daniel George emerged as co-leaders into Thursday’s final round.

George registered four birdies and two bogeys for his one-shot lead alongside Mei.

“I was just driving the ball straight, hitting a lot of fairways, hitting a lot of greens, and making some clutch putts,” said the Richmond Hill, Ont., native. “It feels great, I’m as excited as I’ve ever been for anything. I can’t wait for tomorrow.”

Mei had a pretty shaky front-nine after a double bogey on hole 8 but shined on the back-nine, carding five birdies to head into the final day at 1 under.

“I had a pretty shaky front-nine. I had one double on the eighth hole and I was a little bit unconfident going into my back-nine, but starting hole 10 I got things going,” said Mei. “My putting was good and I was saving a lot of putts that were really important for today.”

Mei also leads the juvenile division with a comfortable 5-stroke margin.

“I’m a little bit nervous for tomorrow but I think I’m going to try and maintain my putting and do a lot of practice to keep going,” said the 15-year-old. “My plan going into tomorrow is to try and not think too much about the numbers. Play every shot not thinking about the next one.”

Luc Warnock of McGregor, Ont., and Olivier Ménard of Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Que., are only one stroke back in a tie for third.

Warnock carded a scorching 4 under with two birdies and an eagle on the front-nine but ran into trouble with three bogeys across his final three holes. Still, the 17-year-old was all smiles when he finished the round.

“I felt really good this morning. I know I’m hitting the ball straight so far this week so it’s really just whether or not I could hit some good putts today and I did,” said Warnock. “I’m excited for what tomorrow will bring and I’ll relish it.”

Team Canada Development Squad Johnny Travale fired his second 69 of the tournament to climb into a tie for tenth at 3 over. Travale’s teammates Christopher Vandette and Peyton Callens also cracked the top-20 at 4 over and 5 over, respectively.

With seven other players within 3 shots of victory, Friday’s final round will certainly be one to watch.

In addition to the 2018 Canadian Junior Boys Championship title, the individual champion will earn an exemption into the 2018 Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship at Duncan Meadows and Pheasant Glen from Aug. 6-9.